Thread: Buying first mig welder

I posted this and just before and it seems to have disappeared

I want to buy my first mig welder, I have only ever used a stick welder once. I want to weld mild steel 2.5mm and occasionally 10mm flat bar. I have 15amp and 3 phase power. Budget $1000 (not inc gas/safety). Any recommendations on reliable welders?

Hello from BC.
Stock is a bit short now so it might be take what you can.
I have sold a few Unimig Razor 200 basic welders. They have no digital panel and have been going good. Also good as a stick welder. They come in on your budget.
Regards
BC

Once stock is available I’m going to buy the 200A unit Magnum Welders offer.

https://www.magnumwelders.com.au/pro...?product_id=53

40% Duty cycle at full noise is excellent compared to everything else I’ve looked at.

I have their 200A TIG and 50A plasma also and have had 10Yrs out of them so far. No affiliation, just happy with my purchases.

I should also probably add - Would like to weld the 10mm flat bar to the box section occasionally - hope MIG is best for that.

In regards to TIG functionality, would be nice to be able to weld up to 5mm aluminium

Originally Posted by steamloco1954

Hello from BC.
Stock is a bit short now so it might be take what you can.
I have sold a few Unimig Razor 200 basic welders. They have no digital panel and have been going good. Also good as a stick welder. They come in on your budget.
Regards
BC

Not in any real rush - what are the pros and cons of mine vs the one you recommended?

Originally Posted by racingtadpole

Once stock is available I’m going to buy the 200A unit Magnum Welders offer.

https://www.magnumwelders.com.au/pro...?product_id=53

40% Duty cycle at full noise is excellent compared to everything else I’ve looked at.

I have their 200A TIG and 50A plasma also and have had 10Yrs out of them so far. No affiliation, just happy with my purchases.

Interesting, thanks for the suggestion

I dont know whats going on it seems like my posts arent getting submitted :S

Anyway - I should mention that I hope to weld up to 10mm flat bar to 2.5mm box section - are these migs up to the task?

I have learnt that if I want to go down the tig route I should get a dedicated tig so I'm ok with that.

Thanks for the suggestion on magnum - will consider it.

That unimig vs the unimig I listed - is there much difference?

https://sydneytools.com.au/product/u...igstick-welder

If you don't care too much about portability and seeing that you have 3 phase available i'd be looking at a second hand 3 phase mig. You would be able to pick something decent up for under $500.

Might even find a multi process machine in your budget.

If you want to weld aluminium down the track consider waiting for a pulse mig to come up.

You are in a very good position having 3 phase available to you so I would be using it to your advantage.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

I dont know whats going on it seems like my posts arent getting submitted :S

Anyway - I should mention that I hope to weld up to 10mm flat bar to 2.5mm box section - are these migs up to the task?

I have learnt that if I want to go down the tig route I should get a dedicated tig so I'm ok with that.

Thanks for the suggestion on magnum - will consider it.

That unimig vs the unimig I listed - is there much difference?

https://sydneytools.com.au/product/u...igstick-welder

137% at least.

Originally Posted by Com_VC

If you don't care too much about portability and seeing that you have 3 phase available i'd be looking at a second hand 3 phase mig. You would be able to pick something decent up for under $500.

Might even find a multi process machine in your budget.

If you want to weld aluminium down the track consider waiting for a pulse mig to come up.

You are in a very good position having 3 phase available to you so I would be using it to your advantage.

Where is the best place to look for second hand units? I looked on machines4u and there was one for $400 but that was it.

Just wondering - what sort of situations do people use a tig welder when doing mild steel?

Originally Posted by qwertyu

Where is the best place to look for second hand units? I looked on machines4u and there was one for $400 but that was it.

Just wondering - what sort of situations do people use a tig welder when doing mild steel?

I've got 3 phase on the shed, and while I've been looking for a bigger machine to complement my ageing Unimig 165, not much comes up in my area, and I really prefer inverter machines, which aren't so common on the second-hand market.

I use TIG on mild steel when it's a small part, or where I want a nice, tight fillet. Going between the lathe, the TIG welder and back is a common operation.

As for welding thin-wall box section to 10mm, that is tricky to do well with MIG - it's very easy to lay a nice looking weld that has virtually no penetration into the thicker material. You need to make sure your arc is biased mostly on the thick section at high feed and volts, then bring it over to allow the pool to wash into the thin section, then back to the thick material. I'd be doing practice runs and then breaking them - i.e. do one side of the box section, bend it over and see where it breaks.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

Where is the best place to look for second hand units? I looked on machines4u and there was one for $400 but that was it.

Just wondering - what sort of situations do people use a tig welder when doing mild steel?

Ebay, gumtree, graysonline etc. There should be plenty around.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

Where is the best place to look for second hand units? I looked on machines4u and there was one for $400 but that was it.

Just wondering - what sort of situations do people use a tig welder when doing mild steel?

https://www.newmac.com.au/welders-for-sale/

Another question - welding 2.5 or 3mm mild steel together or to 10mm mild steel - what size mig wire should I be getting? I saw a chart which says 1mm but I can only find 0.9 or 1.2mm

0.9mm is pretty much industry standard.

Great - is there much difference between various brands of wire? Seems to be a pretty big price range:

https://www.totaltools.com.au/111582...kg-mer70s60915
https://www.totaltools.com.au/41239-...ig-wire-720090
https://sydneytools.com.au/product/u...l-welding-wire

I doubt you would notice much difference, i'd probably stick with the cigweld considering it is well known.